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Hi All.
This thread relates to whether or not a rule of thumb can be established for safely lowering crossover frequencies by increasing crossover slope and/or reducing the wattage specification of HF compression drivers. I am currently stuck in a never ending search for a reasonably priced 1" throat compression driver that can be crossed over at 500 HZ, in a two way speaker system. I have another thread in these forums that has progressed to the point where I have a few general questions about HF compression drivers and their crossover specifications. I think that answers to these questions would be beneficial to anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation as myself. The following are my questions:
1. If a compression driver is specified as having a cross over at, for example, 1000 HZ @ 12 DB/octave @ 100 Watts, what would be an acceptable crossover frequency at 24 DB/octave?
2. If this same compression driver is operated at, for example, 50 Watts maximum, would a 500 HZ @ 12 DB/octave be okay to protect the driver from damage? If not, what might be a more acceptable safe wattage at this particular crossover frequency and slope?
3. If, like myself, you use DIY SET tube amps of between 2 and 8 watts, and have no intention of ever exceeding 25 Watts (I have a DIY Aleph J in the works), what does the specification of 1000 HZ @ 12 DB @ 100 Watts mean to my choice of a 500 HZ crossover point at 2 Watts maximum, 8 Watts maximum, and 25 Watts maximum? I am not sure what percentage of the wattage available in my amps will actually go to the HF compression drivers, but I would imagine that most would go to the bass bin.
There are some manufacturer's spec sheets that give a clue to what the answers might be, as is the case in the following two Radian spec sheets, but it seems that Radian is the exception when it comes to showing this specification. Also, there is not a consistent change with respect to the rate of change in the crossover specifications for these two drivers. For example, the specification sheet for the Radian 651PB/760PB/850PB shows 1200 HZ @ 12 DB and 500 HZ @ 24 DB at 50/60/75 Watts respectively, while the 450PB/465PB/475PB sheet shows 1200 HZ @ 12 DB and 800 HZ @ 24 DB at 25/35/35 Watts respectively.
http://www.usspeaker.com/radian 760pb-1.htm
https://www.parts-express.com/pedocs/specs/manufacturer-specifications-44920.pdf
At the moment I am at the beginning of putting together a two way speaker system with Peavey FH-1 as bass bins (they were delivered earlier today), and Altec 500B as a HF horn with Renkus-Heinz SSD 1800-16 compression drivers. I have a Behringer CX3400 on loan that has 24 DB/octave slopes, but I may go passive or choose a different active crossover when I get my own. I also have Altec 800B horns, which I would like to combine with a DIY bass cab to create a two way. I would also like to acquire either a Klipsch K510 or K401 in the future, and I will need 2" throat compression drivers for these horns, which will be used with either the bass bin portion of my La Scalas, the FH-1s, or the bin I build for the Altec 800Bs. Having the above questions answered could, depending on the answers, greatly expand the choices of compression drivers that would be appropriate for these builds.
Thank you in advance for any information/answers that you can provide to these questions.
Tiz